I've heard this is pretty tough for a Canadian student to do because they don't have a green card yet...are there any Canucks out there who've gone through the process and what did they do? Thanks!!

Yes - lots and lots. Mostly primary care. a few rads, anes, em, im/ped. more and more are actually matching back up in canada now.

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What are the limitations we have versus an American?

For example, it seems like its almost guaranteed an American will get a residency in America (from the figures SGU posts).

If a Canadian wanted one, would his chances be similar? Greatly reduced?


Thanks.

Its not as bad as it seems for Canadians to get a residency in the US. Here's the deal, if you don't have a green card, you need to find a hospital that will sponsor either a J-1 or a H1-b visa. Most hospitals will do a J-1, less will sponsor H1-B (the ones that do are mostly on east coast).

To get a J-1, you need to take the MCCQE (I think that's the one). You will be able to start residency the same year that you graduate (if you graduate in May/June). However, with the J-1, there is a requirement from the US government that you leave the US for 2 years after you finish residency. It is possible to get a waiver to stay in the US, in return for working in an underserviced area for a few years.

With the H1-B, you will most likely have to wait until the year after you graduate to start your residency, if you graduate in May/June. This is because you need to have passed the Step 3 before you can qualify for this visa. You cannot sit the Step 3 until after you have graduated and it takes atleast a couple of weeks (if you pay for premium processing) for paperwork for the visa to go through. It will be tight in terms of time for you to start your residency. Although I have heard of cases where the hospital really wants you in their program and they were willing to wait for a little bit for you to get the visa. The advantage with H1-B is that you do not need to leave the US after your residency.

Hope this helps,

Marco

Do you have any more details about those matching back in Canada? For instance province, cities specialty?

actually, the j1 requires the mccee, not the mccqe.

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Email the school intl admissions. they'd be happy to give you the list of cdn matches to date.

__________________
"Remember your Hippopotamus Oath."
-H. Simpson

I realize this thread is several years old but perhaps someone else can answer it as well.

Can you start residency with a J1 and then get the H1B visa once you are qualified for it (ie. Step 3 was completed)?

this is a question for the individual programs you are appying for.

I speculate the answer will be NO!!

I have never heard of being able to start on a J1 and switching to an H1b. all the residents I know started on one or the other.

but again - this is speculation on my part.

Cheers,

Burton

No, you cannot. And, please do a search, this topic has been discussed ad nauseum on VMD, quite recently in the SGU forum, I know, b/c I put up a lot of stuff on this in the past little while. Also, go on the Canadian IMG section of VMD, there is a lot of info on there as well.

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